At least 67 worshipers were killed and more than 70 others were injured in a suicide bomb attack in a mosque in Akhorwal area of Dara Adamkhel of Frontier Region, Kohat during Friday prayers. Banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has reportedly accepted the responsibility of the incident.
The injured were rushed to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) Peshawar and District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ), Kohat while the bodies were shifted to a local hospital of Dara Adamkhel. According to eyewitnesses, the attack was carried out by a 17-year youth. About 10 to 15 kg explosive used in the explosion not only destroyed the roof of the mosque, but also created cracks in the nearby houses.
More than 25 victims belonged to the same Mohallah of the area. Twenty-three bodies, including three children were shifted to Civil Hospital, Dara Adamkhel.
Security forces cordoned off the area and search operation was launched in the area for the suspected suicide bombers. Anger and harassment gripped the area after the incident while women also came out on roads in search of their family members those who usually go to mosque for prayers. According to reports from Akhorwal, preparations for the funeral and burial of the deceased started in the local graveyard.
Talking to media persons during a visit to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), Provincial Minister for Information and spokesman of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government Iftikhar Hussein condemned the suicide bomb blast in the mosque, saying that the network of the terrorists had been weakened. Therefore, they are targeting worshipers in mosques.
He reiterated the resolve of the government for continuation of the war against terror. He said that the war would continue till elimination of the last terrorist.
Another Minister, Bashir Ahmad Bilour, termed elements targeting mosques wild animals, adding that targeted operation against terrorists would continue. Meanwhile, at least four people were killed and 21 wounded when hand grenades were thrown into a mosque in Suleman Khel village lies some 15 kilometres (nine miles) south-west of Peshawar, in a second attack on worshippers Friday, a hospital official said.
Senior police official Kalam Khan said that up to four hand grenades were thrown inside the mosque and more than 14 people were wounded. Another senior police official Mohammad Karim Khan confirmed the grenade attack. "Someone hurled hand grenades at about 35 worshippers offering prayer in the main hall of the mosque," Khan said. The police said the motive of the attack was not clear.